Last week the 25th Hoogeveen Chess Festival celebrated chess again - with matches and tournaments. Local hero Lucas von Foreest won his match against Luke McShane and Daniel Dardha from Belgium won his match against Max Warmerdam. The Open finished with a "Final Four" finale which was won by Robert Hovhanissyan. Frans Peeters reports. | Photos: Frans Peeters
Going into the rest day at the Chess Olympiad, we have sole leaders in both categories for the first time in the event. Armenia beat India 2 to grab the lead in the open, while India defeated Georgia to keep its perfect score in the women’s tournament. Remarkably, Gukesh, playing for India 2, scored a sixth consecutive victory in Chennai. | Pictured: All eyes on Gabriel Sargissian and Gukesh. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Grandmaster Mark Paragua dug deep into his endgame bag of tricks as he carved out the nerve-wracking victory on top board in lifting the Philippines to a stunning 2.5-1.5 win over a fancied Sweden.
A group of six players unsuccessfully filed legal proceedings against the Dutch Chess Federation and the municipality of Hoogeveen. The players objected to a requirement at the upcoming Dutch championships to either show a corona pass or otherwise be tested daily, which they claim will disturb them too.